Simple mistakes haunt Rory McIlroy in Masters opening round

Rory McIlroy came into Augusta looking to complete the career grand slam. Thursday did not help his cause.

McIlroy shot a 1-over-par 73 in the opening round, stained by six bogeys. He opening tee shot was an indicator of future things to come. He sliced it into the trees to the right of the fairway, leading to a bogey.

The 29-year-old was bitten again on the start of the second nine with bogeys on 10 and 11. He made it to 1 under after a birdie on 16, but fell back by closing with 5s on 17 and 18.

2019 Masters Round 1 Photos

“You never like to see six bogeys on the scorecard. That’s a little too many,” he said. “You can accept whether it’s an undesirable break or hitting the ball in a hazard or something, that happens out here. But, yeah, I just need to tidy that up a bit.”

He was particularly frustrated with his play considering the softer conditions.

“I mean, I felt the course was there. It’s soft. There’s not much wind,” he said. “I made five birdies, that wasn’t the problem. I just made too many mistakes and that was the problem. And I’m making mistakes from pretty simple positions, just off the side of the green, 17 and 18 being prime examples of that.”

Coming off a win at The Players Championship in March, McIlroy is favored by many to bring home a green jacket in 2019. He admits he’ll have to clean up a few things if that is going to happen.

“Yeah, I’m going to go to the putting green right now and try to figure this out, just sort of reads more than anything else,” he said. “Just figuring out, I over-read a few early on, and then I started to under-read them coming in. So just try to work on that a little bit.”

McIlroy currently sits at 1-over in a field with a log jam at the top but knows there are still chances to be had.

“I think I’ve sort of been through it all here at this golf course,” he said. “So it’s sort of ‑‑ it’s fine. You know you’re going to have chances. There’s birdie opportunities.”